1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor vehicle bodies, and particularly to a truck bed with extensible rails for selectively increasing the load-carrying volume of the truck bed of a conventional pickup truck or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pickup trucks and similar vehicles are commonly used to haul a wide variety of materials and articles in their truck beds. However, the safe hauling capacity of the truck is limited by the height of the tailgate and sidewalls of the truck bed. For loads which exceed the height of the sidewalls and tailgate, users typically use ropes or flexible coverings in an attempt to secure the loads within the truck bed. Such attempts, though, are often unsuccessful, not only damaging the load when it falls from the truck bed, but also creating unsafe driving conditions for motorists in the vicinity.
Although various removable cabin structures, cages and the like are known for auxiliary usage with a truck bed, such structures can require a great deal of manual effort for both installation and removal thereof. It would be desirable to provide an automated system allowing for selective increase of the load-carrying volume of the truck bed.
Thus, a truck bed with extensible rails addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.